I AM SMARTER THAN A MOUSE

[W. Gray]

In the 1970s while living in Mulvane, Kansas, mice invaded my house. Being single at the time, I never kept much food around. I had been there three years and never saw one up to that time. I put traps out and caught several.

I discovered one mouse moseying around in the basement and I tried stabbing it with the sweeping end of a corn broom but it was just too fast. I finally threw a bucket at it. Somehow, the bucket landed upright with the mouse trapped underneath.

I was in a hurry and needed to get on my way to Indiana. I decided I could not raise the bucket in any manner that would not allow it to get away. Therefore, I left the bucket where it was and walked away. When I got home two weeks later, I swore I would never do that again!

I finally called an exterminator after I had killed twenty-four of the varmints. The exterminator found there was a colony living just outside the house under a concrete air conditioning slab.

The exterminator did an excellent job and I never again saw another mouse by the time I moved out two years later.

[Wilma]

This mouse war might end soon.  Yesterday I found that I can no longer use traps.  They are cruel and painful.  My trap finally did it's job and trapped a little mouse.  I had to let it die in the trap as it was too injured to turn loose.  I will not be setting any more traps.  The mice either have to drop into the empty waste basket or eat the D-Con that I have hidden.  I won't let Bud have them, either, as he could be just as cruel, besides probably letting them get away from him.  If he catches one on his own and I don't know about it, he can do as he wants.  I don't think he has ever caught one.  In fact, I think if he saw one, he would say "What's that?"  He's such a good little boy.

[Jane]

Wilma,
Use a live trap and let someone take them to the country. When you let them out of the door they just go back to their trail and come in again. As it gets colder they will be looking for a place to stay, no one is safe.
Army Mom

[Teresa]

My cat Sheeba loves to catch them and then bring them to the front door to "show" me.
The she proceeds to eat it!
Ye Gads... I can do without either one.
But she is soooo proud of her catch so I have to brag and brag. Only then will she settle in and eat it.
Tiger on the other hand.. catches them and then plays with them until they are dead and then walks away. He loses interest after they don't move anymore.

[Ms Bear]

I have five cats and have not seen a mouse, mole or snake in my yard or house in a long time but the last time I did I took some steel wool and poked it in around where the water pipes and drain pipe holes are and haven't seen any inside since.  The mice can't chew through the steel wool.

Good Luck getting rid of them.

[Wilma]

Son-in-law brought me some steel wool the other day, but I haven't felt like trying to stuff it anyplace.  Besides I need to figure out just how I am going to do it, since I can't get down to floor level.  I was going to use my extend-a-reach, then I remembered that it has a magnet on the end of it.  I don't think I would have much luck leaving the steel wool anyplace with it.

When we had lots of outdoor cats we didn't have a mouse problem.  Maybe twice a year a couple would set up housekeeping in the kitchen towel drawer (always the same drawer), my husband would set a couple of traps and when we had caught 2 or 3 we wouldn't see any signs of any more for 6 months.  It didn't bother me to trap them then.  My husband took care of the traps and I didn't have to see them suffer.

[W. Gray]

When we go camping, I use steel wool to start a campfire.

Set a match to it and it burns better than paper as a fire starter.

[Wilma]

Never heard of that before.  Now I will have to try it just to see if it works.  Wonder if it would work in a fireplace.

[W. Gray]

A number of years ago, I was working on a workbench in the garage.

A three-foot length of thin wire was stretched out on the bench as I was working.

I plugged a drill into the plug in receptacle of a trouble light also lying on the workbench.

As I manipulated the drill, that wire somehow found its way into the plug in on the trouble light contacting the two plug in prongs.

The instant result was a short circuit, a poof of fire, and a loud noise.

After I jumped back from fright, the wire was a three-foot length of ash laid out perfectly on the workbench.

[Tobina+1]

Although still having the same outcome as a regular trap (just seems a little nicer since there is no physical harm), those sticky traps work WONDERS.  But, use my trick (since once there is a mouse on the sticky trap I don't want to get my fingers within 2 inches of the mouse)... tape a piece of long string to the bottom of the trap.  That way, you can also push it far underneath things or way back in corners and the string will still allow you to pull it back out.  These flat, easily sliding trays might work better with your extend-a-reach, too.

Note:  These things can catch all sorts of crawlies, including bugs and small snakes (don't ask).